A retirement ceremony was held May 3 to honor Lt. Gen. Robert Van Antwerp, chief of engineers and commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The ceremony took place on the Fort Lesley J. McNair Parade Field in Washington, D.C.
President Barack Obama has nominated Lt. Gen. Thomas Bostick, deputy chief of staff G-1 (Army personnel and administration), to be the next chief of engineers, pending Senate confirmation. If necessary, Maj. Gen. Merdith "Bo" Temple, deputy commander of USACE, will be acting chief of engineers and acting USACE commander.
Gen. Martin Dempsey, U.S. Army chief of staff, hosted the ceremony. He presented several awards to Van Antwerp, including the Distinguished Service Medal.
In addition, Dempsey presented the Army Superior Unit Award to USACE. The award was given for "the execution of $26 million of Base Realignment and Closure...and American Recovery and Reinvestment Act construction requirements during fiscal years 2006-2010," read the citation. USACE "exceeded Army and Department of the Defense metrics for execution of funding and implemented innovative business processes and strategies to enable timely delivery of facilities within budget."
The award included presentation of a special streamer, and Van Antwerp and USACE Command Sgt. Maj. Micheal Buxbaum fastened the streamer to the USACE flag. All subordinate commands of USACE are now authorized to carry that streamer on their USACE flag.
"Van commanded the largest public engineering organization in the world, $45 billion, which would rank about 50th on the Fortune 100 list," Dempsey said during his remarks. "During his tenure USACE aided the planning and construction of thousands of reconstruction projects in Iraq; invested billions of dollars in Afghanistan; managed the largest Army military construction effort since World War II; and supported recovery operations after numerous domestic and international emergencies including the Midwest flood fights, Gulf Coast oil spill, the earthquake in Haiti and the recent tsunami in Japan."
"Van, your career reflects success after success, but more important is the way you've done it," Dempsey said. "You've done it with class, with dignity, you're a role model, you're a Christian gentleman and you have a wonderful family. You are someone we all should emulate."
During his speech, Van Antwerp said, "In the Corps, I have learned that this great organization at its heart has a cadre of co-leaders. They are key players who do the work, even if they receive little glory. They are selfless, tireless, creative teammates. They have families, and they are warriors, too. So to my teammates in the Corps of Engineers, thank you so much for your incredible service. It has been a joy beyond comprehension for Paula and me. God bless you, and God bless America. It has been an incredible honor to serve."
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